Old/New Testament
Psalm 40[a]
Gratitude and Prayer for Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
A
2 Surely, I wait for the Lord;
who bends down to me and hears my cry,(A)
3 Draws me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the muddy clay,(B)
Sets my feet upon rock,
steadies my steps,
4 And puts a new song[b] in my mouth,(C)
a hymn to our God.
Many shall look on in fear
and they shall trust in the Lord.
5 Blessed the man who sets
his security in the Lord,
who turns not to the arrogant
or to those who stray after falsehood.(D)
6 You, yes you, O Lord, my God,
have done many wondrous deeds!
And in your plans for us
there is none to equal you.(E)
Should I wish to declare or tell them,
too many are they to recount.(F)
7 [c]Sacrifice and offering you do not want;(G)
you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
8 so I said, “See; I come
with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
9 I delight to do your will, my God;
your law is in my inner being!”(H)
10 When I sing of your righteousness
in a great assembly,
See, I do not restrain my lips;
as you, Lord, know.(I)
11 I do not conceal your righteousness
within my heart;
I speak of your loyalty and your salvation.
I do not hide your mercy or faithfulness from a great assembly.
12 Lord, may you not withhold
your compassion from me;
May your mercy and your faithfulness
continually protect me.(J)
B
13 But evils surround me
until they cannot be counted.
My sins overtake me,
so that I can no longer see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my courage fails me.(K)
14 Lord, graciously rescue me!(L)
Come quickly to help me, Lord!
15 May those who seek to destroy my life
be shamed and confounded.
Turn back in disgrace
those who desire my ruin.(M)
16 Let those who say to me “Aha!”(N)
Be made desolate on account of their shame.
17 While those who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who long for your salvation
always say, “The Lord is great.”(O)
18 Though I am afflicted and poor,
my Lord keeps me in mind.
You are my help and deliverer;
my God, do not delay!
Psalm 41[d]
Thanksgiving After Sickness
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 Blessed the one concerned for the poor;[e]
on a day of misfortune, the Lord delivers him.(P)
3 The Lord keeps and preserves him,
makes him blessed in the land,
and does not betray him to his enemies.
4 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed,
you turn down his bedding whenever he is ill.[f]
II
5 Even I have said, “Lord, take note of me;
heal me, although I have sinned against you.
6 My enemies say bad things against me:
‘When will he die and his name be forgotten?’
7 When someone comes to visit me, he speaks without sincerity.
His heart stores up malice;
when he leaves, he gossips.(Q)
8 All those who hate me whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst about me:
9 ‘He has had ruin poured over him;
that one lying down will never rise again.’
10 [g]Even my trusted friend,
who ate my bread,
has raised his heel against me.(R)
III
11 “But you, Lord, take note of me to raise me up
that I may repay them.”[h]
12 By this I will know you are pleased with me,
that my enemy no longer shouts in triumph over me.
13 In my integrity may you support me
and let me stand in your presence forever.
14 [i]Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from all eternity and forever.
Amen. Amen.(S)
Second Book—Psalms 42–72
Psalm 42[j]
Longing for God’s Presence in the Temple
1 For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites.[k]
I
2 As the deer longs for streams of water,(T)
so my soul longs for you, O God.
3 My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When can I enter and see the face of God?[l](U)
4 My tears have been my bread day and night,(V)
as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?”(W)
5 Those times I recall
as I pour out my soul,(X)
When I would cross over to the shrine of the Mighty One,[m]
to the house of God,
Amid loud cries of thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.(Y)
6 Why are you downcast, my soul;
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
II
7 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I remember you
From the land of the Jordan[n] and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar,(Z)
8 [o]Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your torrents,
and all your waves and breakers
sweep over me.(AA)
9 By day may the Lord send his mercy,
and by night may his righteousness be with me!
I will pray[p] to the God of my life,
10 I will say to God, my rock:
“Why do you forget me?(AB)
Why must I go about mourning
with the enemy oppressing me?”
11 It shatters my bones, when my adversaries reproach me,
when they say to me every day: “Where is your God?”
12 Why are you downcast, my soul,
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
Chapter 27
Departure for Rome. 1 [a]When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius of the Cohort Augusta.[b] 2 We went on board a ship from Adramyttium bound for ports in the province of Asia and set sail. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.(A) 3 On the following day we put in at Sidon where Julius was kind enough to allow Paul to visit his friends who took care of him. 4 From there we put out to sea and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds, 5 and crossing the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia we came to Myra in Lycia.
Storm and Shipwreck. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship that was sailing to Italy and put us on board. 7 For many days we made little headway, arriving at Cnidus only with difficulty, and because the wind would not permit us to continue our course we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone. 8 We sailed past it with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 Much time had now passed and sailing had become hazardous because the time of the fast[c] had already gone by, so Paul warned them,(B) 10 “Men, I can see that this voyage will result in severe damage and heavy loss not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives.” 11 The centurion, however, paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was unfavorably situated for spending the winter, the majority planned to put out to sea from there in the hope of reaching Phoenix, a port in Crete facing west-northwest, there to spend the winter.
13 A south wind blew gently, and thinking they had attained their objective, they weighed anchor and sailed along close to the coast of Crete. 14 Before long an offshore wind of hurricane force called a “Northeaster” struck. 15 Since the ship was caught up in it and could not head into the wind we gave way and let ourselves be driven. 16 We passed along the sheltered side of an island named Cauda and managed only with difficulty to get the dinghy under control. 17 They hoisted it aboard, then used cables to undergird the ship. Because of their fear that they would run aground on the shoal of Syrtis, they lowered the drift anchor and were carried along in this way. 18 We were being pounded by the storm so violently that the next day they jettisoned some cargo, 19 and on the third day with their own hands they threw even the ship’s tackle overboard. 20 Neither the sun nor the stars were visible for many days, and no small storm raged. Finally, all hope of our surviving was taken away.
21 When many would no longer eat, Paul stood among them and said, “Men, you should have taken my advice and not have set sail from Crete and you would have avoided this disastrous loss. 22 I urge you now to keep up your courage; not one of you will be lost, only the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God to whom [I] belong and whom I serve stood by me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to stand before Caesar; and behold, for your sake, God has granted safety to all who are sailing with you.’(C) 25 Therefore, keep up your courage, men; I trust in God that it will turn out as I have been told. 26 We are destined to run aground on some island.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.